


The Day

by rexisnotyourwriter



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Anniversary, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:49:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5309975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexisnotyourwriter/pseuds/rexisnotyourwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hardy plans a special day for Ellie that ends with a confession.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



The bed was empty when she woke up.  The covers on the vacant side had been scrunched up next to her leaving the wrinkled sheets exposed to the light peeking through the blinds.  Ellie sprawled out her limbs.  She rarely had a bed to herself these days, but it was a change she had welcomed almost a year ago.  

She flipped her pillow over and wrapped herself in the whole blanket, Hardy’s corner pressed up against her face.  It still smelled like him, the leftover scent of his sandalwood cologne mixed with his natural musk that reminded her of a favourite t-shirt, well-worn and loved.  The aroma of coffee soon followed, along with the sound of clattering of pans from downstairs.  Aside from that, the house was quiet for a Saturday.  Tom was at summer camp and Lucy had taken Fred for the weekend.  She had offered, insisted rather, that she look after him so Ellie could have some alone time.  Well, not alone alone time, as she hinted at not so subtly.  She still thought the idea of her and Hardy was amusing, but she didn’t disapprove.  Not that Ellie would have cared much either way.  She could do without the puns about his name from Lucy though.  

The stairs creaked softly as Hardy slowly made his way back to the bedroom, mug of coffee in hand.  He tread carefully so as not to wake her if she was still sleeping.  

He stood in the doorway for a moment and leaned against the frame.  Her eyes were open just enough to watch him, but not so much that he would notice she was awake.  A smile of contentment creeped onto his face as he watched the rise and fall of her body breathing.  She heard him move to return downstairs.

“Hardy,” she said sleepily.  

She sat up in bed as he reentered the bedroom.  

“Morning,” he said.

He placed the mug of coffee on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed next to her.  His warm hand gently lifted her chin to give her a slow, sweet kiss.  

“Good morning,” she smiled as their foreheads pressed together.

He brushed a stray ringlet from her face.

“I’m making breakfast.”

“So I heard,” she smirked.

He half-rolled his eyes before standing up.

“It’ll be ready soon,” he said as he left.

“Alright, I’ll be down in a sec.”

He turned around.

“No, no.  Stay in bed.  I’ll bring it up.”

She stared at him and let out a small, incredulous laugh.  This was a first.  He raised his eyebrows and gave her that dopey almost-smile.  She continued to stare at him as he left, her focus shifting downwards to watch the way his hips swivelled in those thin pyjama bottoms he was wearing.

When Hardy returned he was carrying a large tray with pancakes, his mug, and a variety of toppings - syrup, fresh made whipped cream, and mixed berries.  In the center was a thin vase containing two roses, one red and one white.  He couldn’t hide the smile from his face at the sight of Ellie’s gaping mouth.

“Alright, what did you do?  Or what do you want?” she asked as he carefully placed the tray on the bed and crawled back in.  

Ellie inspected the tray.  It was quite long, clearly designed for breakfast in bed, but she didn’t remember owning it.  

“What?” he asked.

She made a grand gesture to the tray of food.  

He shrugged and began pulling apart one of the pancakes into chunks on his plate.

“I thought it would be nice.”

She looked at him skeptically.  He finished ripping up his pancake before pouring a small pool of syrup in the empty spot he’d left on his plate.

Hardy had made them breakfast before, on a number of occasions, but he never went all out like this.  It was always simple, casual.  

She put two pancakes on her plate and loaded them up with whipped cream and a heaping spoonful of the berries.  She’d let his display go, for now.  

“Where did you find this tray?”

Except for that.  

He shoved a syrup covered piece of pancake into his mouth and refused to turn and look at her.  His ears started to flush.  

“Shoved in the back of the pantry.”

Ellie tried to recall any memory of it.

“There’s so much...stuff there that you never use,” he said, trying to steer the conversation away from the mysterious tray.  

He wasn’t wrong.  She did a bit of a purge when she came to live back at the house, but the kitchen was still a mess.  

Ellie finished off the last of her coffee and put the empty mug down on the tray.  Hardy almost immediately reached over to grab it.

“D’you want some more?”

“Sure, yeah.”

He jumped up from the bed and escaped downstairs, if only for a few minutes.  

She picked up a whipped cream covered blueberry from her plate and popped it in her mouth.  This was something she could get used to.

 

Their breakfast, it turned out, had been more of a brunch.  Ellie hadn’t realized how late she woke up.  They didn’t get out of bed until after one o’clock.  Even though she offered, Hardy insisted on cleaning up the dishes.  

“Stop,” he ordered as she tried to rinse his syrupy plate.

“Shut up,” she mumbled, ignoring his request.

He grabbed the plate from her hand.

“Ellie.”

She looked up at him.  

“I’ve got it.  Relax.  Get your book, or turn on the telly.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“This is supposed to be your vacation, right?” he asked with a shit eating grin.  

“Fine.”

He caught her hand as she turned to leave and drew her back over to him, wrapping her in his arms.  He kissed the top of her head before releasing her.

“I’ve got us dinner reservations tonight.”

“Did I miss an anniversary or something?  Seriously.”

He snorted out a laugh and shook his head.  

“This is your vacation.  Take it easy.  Not everyone has an ulterior motive when they do something nice.”

That was a gentle jab at her.  She had been known to go the extra mile as it were when there was something she wanted.  

She bit the corner of her lip and squinted her eyes at him.  He gave her a cheeky smile.

When he was done with the dishes, Hardy joined her in the living room to spend the rest of the afternoon watching episode after episode of _Fawlty Towers_.  It wasn’t his favourite show, but she enjoyed it.  He’d gotten her the set for Christmas last year.  He sat slouched in the corner of the couch while Ellie half laid down, her head using his chest as a pillow.  They stayed like that until it was time to get ready to leave for dinner.  

 

“What do you mean you don’t see it?  I called days ago and made a reservation for tonight.”

This was not going as Hardy had planned.

The hostess looked down at the list again, studying it more carefully, hoping that she just missed his name.

Ellie was rubbing his arm.

“It’s ok,” she whispered.  “We can go somewhere else.  Or we can go back home.  There are some leftovers in the fridge.”

He looked at her and took a deep, agitated breath, exhaling loudly.  He closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to calm down.  

“I’m sorry, sir.  Your name isn’t here.  Unfortunately we’re completely full tonight, but I can put you on the waiting list for a table.  Right now it looks like a 45 minute to an hour wait.”

“You’re kidding me.”

She shook her head meekly.  

Hardy’s mind raced, trying to decide what to do next.  

“I’m starving,” Ellie said to him.  

They hadn’t properly eaten since that morning, or afternoon rather.  

She took his hand and started for the exit.

“Come on,” she said.  “There’s a chippy down the street.”

He let out an exasperated sigh and followed her reluctantly outside.

They got their chips, but like the restaurant, there were no vacant tables.  Not that there were many to begin with.  

They walked and ate.  Ellie didn’t realize it, but Hardy was leading the way this time.  The business of the eateries had left the streets practically deserted.  He was almost glad their dinner plans hadn’t worked out.  Their quiet twilight stroll lead them to where he intended to take her after dinner anyways.  

They tossed their empty containers into the bin before taking a seat at their usual bench.  They sat in silence for a while, taking in the clear, star-filled sky as the waves broke rhythmically against the shore.  

Ellie let out a breath of contentment.  She turned to him and smiled.

“Thank you,” she said.  “For today.  For everything.”

He smiled at his lap.  He was fiddling nervously with his fingers.  

“Are you still upset about the restaurant?”

Hardy clasped his hands together to settle his nerves.  

“Nah.”

“What’s wrong then?”

He had all of a sudden gotten weird, like he was hiding something.  Ellie continued to look at him.  She wasn’t giving up this time.

He leaned his head back and let out an unintelligible noise.

“The tray,” he said, lowering his head to look at her.  “It’s not yours.”

She laughed.

“Is that why you’re acting all weird?  You’re embarrassed you own a breakfast tray?”

He rolled his eyes.

“No, I-”

He hesitated before continuing.

“I bought it,” he mumbled.  “For today.  I wanted it to be perfect.”

He kicked a pebble near his foot.

“I also asked Lucy if she would take Fred,” he confessed.

“You just asked and she said yes?”

“Well.  Maybe bribed is a better term.”

“Aww,” she cooed and stroked the side of his head.  

He gave her his “seriously?” look.

She pulled his head in and gave him a kiss.

“That was very sweet of you.  Thank you.”

He gave her a sheepish smile, but she could tell the anxiety hadn’t left him.   She decided to let it go.  Instead, she laced her fingers between his and leaned her head on his shoulder.  

The longer Ellie looked at the sky, the more stars appeared.  Or maybe they’d always been visible and it just took her longer to notice them.  

“Today is an anniversary,” Hardy said.

Her stomach dropped.

_Shit._

She lifted her head and looked at him.  He could see the panic in her eyes as she frantically tried to remember what it could possibly have been.  

“No, no.  It’s not anything you were supposed to remember.  It’s not anything you were even aware of, actually.”

She waited for an explanation, confused.  

“A year ago today, I knew that you were the person I wanted to be with.  And I convinced myself to give it a shot.”  

He half-laughed, as if he never imagined he had really a chance with her.  He let go of her hand and shoved both of his in his pockets.  

She stared at him, mouth slightly agape eyes starting to glisten.  

“Oh, Alec,” she said.  

“And today,” he said.  “I know you’re the person I want to be with.”

Hardy pulled his hands out of his pocket.  He got up from his seat, but only to crouch on the ground before her.  No.  He was kneeling.  

“For the rest of my life,” he finished.

“Oh fuck,” Ellie slipped out.  

He opened his hand to reveal a small velvet box.

“Ellie Miller…”

His voice was shaking.  When he looked into her eyes she could see him trying to stop the tears that were threatening to form.  

He opened the box.  The most beautiful, yet simple, ring she had ever seen was resting inside on a white satin.

“Yes,” she answered.

He laughed.

“Oh,” she said, realizing he hadn’t asked her yet.  “Sorry.”

He paused, savouring the moment.

“Will you marry me?”

“Oh God, yes.”

Before he had fully stood up, she had grabbed his face and began snogging him furiously - her hands in his hair, his on her waist.  He wasn’t one for PDA, but right now he didn’t care who saw them.  He was in a state of pure bliss, and nothing could ruin that.  Not now.  Not as long as she was in his arms.  


End file.
